Phoenix TI Institute manages its AV systems with Extron technology

The AV systems of the new institute Phoenix IT Maricopa (Us.) are based on switching, distribution and control of Extron, so that all classrooms are networked to the GlobalViewer Enterprise server for remote control and maintenance.

Founded in 1920 with a solo class 18 students, the educational center Phoenix College now has 17.000 students who participate in more than 150 technical qualifications and certified programmes. The school focuses on workforce development and promotes the relationship with industry in the metropolitan area of this state and surrounding Maricopa County..

Now it has inaugurated the IT Institute (ITI) Maricopa, dedicated to training students in a completely renovated building to become accredited IT professionals to respond to the growing demand for this type of workers by companies in the area.

ITI offers training in cloud services, cybersecurity, computer support, Linux administration, mobile application development, computer networks, programming, systems analysis, virtualization, Web development and Windows server administration. Its graduates pass rigorous exams to obtain the CompTIA A+ certification, reference credential in computer skills.

the Classroom A+, two training rooms, collaboration rooms and a room dedicated to technological innovation occupy the ground floor. On the second floor is the classroom dedicated to computer networks, the Mac lab, Windows and the cybersecurity classroom.

The institute has been equipped in all its classrooms with computer technology, audiovisual and networks. the AV systems not only serve to teach the classes, but as a real test bed where students can gain hands-on experience in the lab.

In the audiovisual systems deployed throughout the institute building, more than 150 manufacturer's equipment Extron. Phoenix College's AV Project Director, Chuck Fortino, and the coordinator of these systems for the Maricopa institute, Henry Denman, supervised its design and installation with the help of IT department staff and technology integrator Aspen Technologies.

"The AV systems of the IT institute are based on switching, Extron distribution and control, explains Denman.. All rooms are networked to our server GlobalViewer Enterprise, allowing us to monitor and control all AV equipment remotely for maintenance and to help teachers manage it, which is very important, as we are far from our main campus".

Integrated AV Solutions

To simplify design and maintenance, similar components and AV connections have been used in each space.. Some classrooms have projectors, while others have multiple flat screen display devices. All have a lectern for the instructor that supplies the content of the AV program from a computer, document camera or external sources, including wireless sharing of content from devices byod via WiFi.

A presentation switch located on the lectern, model IN1804 or IN1806 by Extron, makes the selection between the sources. The content is sent to the touch screen of the lectern by HDMI, and to the display devices of the room through shielded twisted pair cable using the DTP transmitters and receivers by Extron.

Each lectern has a touch screen TLP Pro 725M 7", that works with a control processor IPCP Pro to control power, font selection, the volume and projection screen in classrooms that have a projector.

To deliver clear audio, the classrooms have been equipped with FF 220T speakers, wide dispersion and ceiling mount, that provide consistent sound levels in the listening area. These work with XPA amplifiers 1002.

Most classrooms contain two speakers for stereo sound, while those dedicated to computer networks and A+ certification are equipped with three speakers per stereo channel.

To support energy savings in the desert area of Phoenix, the occupancy sensors OCS 100C, connected to control processors, automatically turn off all technology when classrooms are empty.

additionally, el departamento de asistencia AV-IT utiliza el sistema GlobalViewer Enterprise de Extron para controlar los sistemas AV de forma remota, to some 4,8 km. of the main campus. "This allows us to monitor systems from a central location., so we can perform maintenance, in addition to control, remotely and offer fast support", Denman points out.

Cybersecurity Classroom

With the proliferation of incidents with Hackers and cyber data hijacking (ransomware) that affect companies around the world, cybersecurity professionals are in high demand. The specific classroom for cybersecurity has been designed for the learning of this type of professionals, and is the most complex in the building.

Includes your own Isolated LAN in which students gain experience untangling the computer chaos created by their instructors. It has four student positions, each with five computers. The display devices of 50" flat panel of each position receive the content through the XTP receivers connected to an XTP II switching array 1600 of Crosspoint.

The five computers provide content to the matrix through each station's IN1806 presentation switch, each equipped with a touch screen TLP Pro 525T 5" where students can select the computer that supplies the AV content.

In this way students collaborate within their own position and with their display device, while the instructor can take control using the touch screen of his lectern to send content from a specific position to the rest, or send content from any of the sources of the lectern to all the posts.

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